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Cycling clothing - John C. Kirk

May. 28th, 2009

12:40 am - Cycling clothing

I've been cycling to work since last October, and my views on appropriate clothing have shifted a bit during that time. Initially, I'd just wear my normal work clothes (with high-vis waistcoat and helmet), but I'm now wearing a T-shirt for cycling and carrying my work shirt in the pannier, then changing when I arrive. That's partly because I seem to be sweating a lot more now; this is probably a combination of the weather, cycling further, and pedalling faster.

I'm now wondering about the lower half. When I use machines at the gym, I wear lycra cycle shorts: they're more comfortable, and a bit more absorbant. I'd be happy to wear them if I was cycling the whole way to work; I could either carry trousers with me, or keep them in a locker at the office. However, the problem is that I go part of the way by train; it's not so much that I'd feel self-conscious, but I don't want to offend any of the other passengers. One option would be to get "baggies", but I'd prefer not to buy any extra clothing at the moment, particularly since I'm hoping to slim down a bit (i.e. they'd become too big for me). Another option would be to put an extra layer on top (e.g. tracksuit trousers), but that would probably make me sweat even more.

Comments:

If you have any light and shorter shorts, you can wear them over the top of the lycra shorts -- it won't add any significant warmth if they're pretty light and short, but they provide much more of a 'dressed' look (rather than an 'I stepped out of the house in my underwear' look).

Thanks (to you and the others) - this sounds like a good idea. I'm not sure whether I have anything suitable at the moment, but if I can shift down from a 38" waist to 36" then I don't mind chopping up some of my current trousers to make shorts.

I have a pair of these, which I got in Wiggle's sale, costing me about £30.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=9356

I have to admit to only rarely wearing Lycra shorts in public, although now that the weather is a lot warmer I think I'll be doing it more often. To be honest, I doubt anyone's going to be mightily offended by the sight of you in Lycra on a commuter train, and if they are you can call them a body fascist. But if you want to salve your conscience, wear any old pair of shorts over the top.